The Tour Stop

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​About the BookTitle: The Fool’s ApprenticeAuthor: Kelly HessGenre: YA FantasyIn the kingdom of Dragon's Launch, young Denrikk's aspirations of becoming a knight are dashed when he is instead apprenticed to the king's fool. Embarrassed and devastated that his new position will ruin all hopes of winning the hand of the girl he loves--the princess Alendria-- Denrikk reluctantly begins training under his new master, Fumbles, the king's aging fool. He quickly learns, however, that being a fool in Dragon's Launch is much more than juggling and laughing like a hyena.But when a shocking murder within the castle walls shakes the palace, all evidence points toward Denrikk. Now, with his new skills, a bit of luck, and the help of some unlikely friends, the fool's apprentice must race to prove his innocence, all while evading capture.

EXCERPTDenrikk sighed. “Please, call me Denrikk. It’s my true name.”“It will be my honor, friend Denrikk,” the prince proclaimed.Denrikk rolled his eyes. Did royalty always speakthis way?And the prince didn’t stop there. Kaleb spewed forth aconstant and continuous stream of commentary and questionsfor the next several hours.By the time the sun was high in the sky and they had stoppedto water their horses, Kaleb had told Denrikk all there was toknow about Falcon’s Ridge and the steadily growing rebellionthere. Kaleb was of the obvious opinion that the people risingagainst the kingdom were ungrateful peasants who couldn’tunderstand the intricacies of running a kingdom.Falcon’s Ridge had, in recent years, ended a long-going andcostly war with Lion’s Hollow and in order to rebuild andmaintain the kingdom, King Weston had sharply raised taxeson his people. With no foreseeable relief in sight, some in thekingdom had begun to openly rebel against the royalty.“They simply will not concede that in difficult times, sacrificesmust be made,” Kaleb complained to Denrikk as theystretched their legs during the short respite from travel.“What exactly have you sacrificed?” Denrikk asked theprince.“Pardon me?” Kaleb appeared stunned by the bold question.“You said that sacrifices must be made,” Denrikk remindedhim. “What sacrifices have you made?”“Denrikk, we are of noble birth. We are not serfs,” Kalebscoffed. “It has forever been the burden of the common man toprovide for the kingdom that protects his family and his land.But if you must know, several of our estates in the eastern hillshave fallen into disrepair. And we have had to cancel two, nothree, state dinners with foreign ambassadors so as to avoidthe appearance of squandering.”“To avoid the appearance of squandering,” Denrikkrepeated Kaleb’s words back to him. “How many actual mealshave your people had to skip because they cannot afford toput food on their tables?”Kaleb raised his chin. “Of course we sacrifice in differentways, but we all endure our hardships.”Denrikk shook his head. “Somehow, I think a man whohasn’t eaten in days wouldn’t consider your eastern estatesfalling into disrepair as much of a hardship.”

Author BioKelly Hess is the author of the BlackMyst Trilogy. Kelly grew up with a love of reading science fiction and fantasy which inspired him to write his own books for young readers. He lives in Vacaville, California with his wife and son where he is currently working on his next adventure.